The octagonal North Temple Pagoda (Beisi Ta) is nine storeys and 76m high and dates from the late 10th century. Suzhou, the city of canals and gardens, was called the ˉVenice of the Eastˇ by Marco Polo. An ancient Chinese proverb states: ˉIn Heaven there is Paradise; on Earth there is Suzhouˇ. The cityˇs love affair with gardens dates back 2,500 years and continues still. At the time of the Ming dynasty (13681644) there were 250 gardens, of which about a hundred survive, although only a few are open to the public.